I Can't Believe It Is The Justice League!
by Vicki1
Summary: For fans of GiffenDeMatteis, this story has the Super Buddies thrown into the world of 52. How will they react to what's happened to them?  Who's behind their unhappy fates? WARNING: I take a lot of literary license & poke fun at current DC storylines.
1. ICBIITJL! Part 1 of 3

**Author's Note:**

So, I started writing this several months ago, pretty much as a way to vent my frustrations at the direction the DC universe had taken some of my favorite characters (while it can stand alone, it's actually intended to be the opening of a series of Super Buddies stories that I may or may not complete). As a huge fan of the late 1980s JLI and the more recent I Can't Believe it's Not the Justice League and Formerly Know as the Justice League series, I was just hearbroken to see it all turn to shambles due to the new dark direction the DC universe had decided to take.

But, from heartache comes inspiration and from inspiration comes stories. Thus, I started writing this fanfic, which takes the Super Buddies and their characterizations and throws them into the whirlwind that was the aftermath to Countdown and the plot of 52. Now, let me warn you before you begin - this story takes a lot of literary license (I only use certain elements from 52, ignore others, and make up some of my own), and it does poke fun at a lot of what has happened recently with DC comics, so don't read it if you think you'll be offended or you're nitpicky about the details. However, if you think you'll enjoy satirical reading featuring Maxwell Lord, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Ralph, Sue, Mary Marvel, L-Ron, J'onn and the others as they had been, then I think this is the story for you.

I tried really hard to do justice to the characters, focused a lot on crafting the dialogue (one of my favorite thing about Giffen/DeMaitteis's work was the strength of its dialogue, particularly the witty banter between the characters), and of course, create something that was amusing and entertaining. In the end, I really enjoyed writing this story and I hope you like it too! Thanks for reading!

* * *

_I Can't Believe It **IS **The Justice League! (Part 1 of 3)_

Maxwell Lord awoke abruptly – if one could describe it as "waking" at all; he had just found himself in his dark office all of a sudden, having no recollection of how he got there. _Did I blackout?_ he wondered when he heard something moving around in the adjacent main office of the Super Buddies. Curious, he poked his head out to see the headquarters of his latest superhero team in complete shambles as his loyal friend, L-Ron, whizzed around in quite a bit of a hurry. "L-Ron," Maxwell immediately demanded, clearly beside himself, "What is going on here?"

"Oh, sir, I was just cleaning up the final paperwork – " L-Ron began to explain before he stopped instantly. At once, he directed his entire attention onto Maxwell. "It's you!" he exclaimed. "But how...?"

"What are you talking about L-Ron?" Maxwell asked, "And why does this place look like a tornado has been through it?"

"You don't know, sir?"

"Know _what_, L-Ron?" Maxwell shot back, growing impatient.

"You better come with me m' lord," L-Ron advised. "This is just one those things you have to see for yourself to believe." With this, L-Ron headed for the exit of the Super Buddies' Headquarters, and Maxwell frowned.

Reluctantly, he agreed, "All right..."

* * *

Moments later, L-Ron had led Maxwell to a storefront window of a corner electronics shop. There, a television set that was for sale was broadcasting the graphic footage of Wonder Woman breaking the neck of _another _Maxwell Lord, this recording being provided by Brother I. Maxwell grimaced, growing white, and uncomfortably clutched his neck with his right hand. "I think I'm going to be sick." 

"It's not that bad, sir," L-Ron tried to comfort him.

"Wonder Woman snapped my neck," Maxwell stated, "How is that _not _bad?"

"There are a lot of things worse than ceasing to exist. After all, it happens to us all eventually."

"L-Ron, you're reasoning with the wrong guy. I'm the one who went through all the trouble of becoming a cyborg just so I could escape dying, remember?"

"If you don't mind me saying so," L-Ron remarked, "That was a bit extreme, even for you. Could it be that you have an unhealthy fear of death?"

Maxwell shrugged. "Maybe. But I don't look too deeply into these things."

"Ah, of course, your simplemindedness. Still, logically speaking, if you _are _a cyborg, then Wonder Woman snapping your neck shouldn't have killed you, so there's nothing to be afraid of."

"I suppose that's true," Maxwell admitted, adding, "But I'm guessing it would hurt a lot, anyway."

"You feel pain?"

"Well, I'm not _all _cyborg. I feel pain, I sleep, I eat, I have urges – "

"No need to get so personal, sir," L-Ron interrupted.

"Right," Maxwell said, "Anyhow, if Wonder Woman _did _snap my neck, I assume I would _feel _like I was dying without actually dying – or something."

'That's a tad morbid, m' lord."

"Sorry," Maxwell apologized. "It's this place, I suppose – all the grim and grittiness starts to get to a man – er, cyborg."

"Understandable."

Maxwell sighed. "Let's just go back to my place and seen if we can – "

"_Ahem_."

"Yes, L-Ron?"

"I believe you mean _my _place," L-Ron corrected.

"_What?!_"

"You left everything – your entire fortune – to me in your will," L-Ron informed him.

"I did _what?!_" Maxwell questioned incredulously.

"It's all in writing," L-Ron went on, holing up a legal document for Maxwell to view. "See?"

"But I'm not dead!"

"Well, you'll just have to have your lawyer take it up with my lawyer, which I suppose technically _is _your lawyer – "

Maxwell, however, was no longer paying attention; a sharp pain struck his head, giving him a throbbing migraine. He cried out, hunching over as images – vivid images – came to him in sporadic flashes. He saw himself, although there was something evidently different and quite frightening about him; it appeared that he had been secretly working for an anti-meta human organization called "Checkmate" for a very long time as a spy. Images of his good friend Blue Beetle also came to him, the Super Buddy kneeling on the floor in obvious trouble. And he saw himself smiling cruelly as he held a gun to Blue Beetle – _Ted Kord – _and shoot him in the head, his brains splattering grotesquely all over. "I think I'm going to be sick!" Maxwell managed to say, falling to the pavement as he was overcome with nausea.

"You already said that, sir," L-Ron pointed out.

"No, I really mean I'm going to be sick!" Maxwell exclaimed while he doubled over.

"Can a cyborg get sick?"

"Well, not that I know of, but – " Maxwell attempted to answer through his terrible migraine, but never finished; he threw up instead.

L-Ron, watching the millionaire finish vomiting, concluded, "Then I guess you're not a cyborg, sir."

"But how can this be?"

"Superboy Prime punched a wall?"

"What was that?"

"Never mind, sir."

Maxwell shook his head as his body relaxed, the headache at last disappearing. "What was that I just – " he started to ask with a shaky voice before he turned to L-Ron and questioned urgently, "L-Ron, where is Blue Beetle?"

"Dead, m' lord."

"No, he's not!" Maxwell immediately shot back stubbornly.

"Yes, he is," L-Ron insisted. "You killed him yourself. From what I hear, it was quite a messy incident."

"No, I didn't," Maxwell argued, growing angry as he rose to his feet.

"Are you in denial, sir?"

"Shut up, L-Ron," Maxwell snapped, "I didn't kill him!"

"Yes, you did," L-Ron repeated. "You shot him in the head – hence, Wonder Woman snapping your neck. She doesn't just kill anyone, you know."

Becoming more desperate, Maxwell said, "L-Ron, I didn't – I _wouldn't!_"

"So you say, but truthfully, after all you've done, it's hard to believe you, especially considering what a pathological liar you turned out to be this whole time. To be honest, I'm hurt by this blatant betrayal of our friendship."

"L-Ron, I did _not _betray you – or Ted!" Maxwell persisted. "And I'm _not _a pathological liar." Frowning, Maxwell clarified, "Okay, so _sometimes _I lie, but it is usually always for a good reason. You of all people – um, life forms – have got to believe me. Do you actually think that I would be secretly working for an evil anti-meta human organization for all these years as a spy?"

"Maybe..."

"Or that I would kill one of my closest friends?"

"Well..."

"Or that I'd leave my entire fortune to _you_?"

""Oh, I knew it was too good to be true!" L-Ron cried out in defeat.

"So you believe me then?"

"Yes, m' lord, I believe you," L-Ron told him bitterly.

"Good," Maxwell said with satisfaction. "Now, where are the others?"

"They're...around, sir," L-Ron answered reluctantly and then offered, "I recommend starting with Booster Gold."

"Okay," Maxwell grew resolute, "Then take me to wherever the heck Booster Gold is in this hell hole."

* * *

L-Ron and Maxwell Lord walked down the dark streets of Queens, New York. "It sure has gotten rundown," Maxwell commented as he looked around the beat up neighborhood, "Dark, too." 

"It's always dark, sir," L-Ron said.

"Well, surely during the day – "

"It's always night, sir."

"Okay..." Maxwell trailed off, not bothering to address the absurdity of such a statement. "So, where exactly is it that we're going to find Booster again?"

"I presume where his arch nemesis, super villain Lightning Bug, is," L-Ron answered.

"'Lightning Bug?' What kind of name is 'Lightning Bug' for a super villain?"

"I do not know, m' lord," L-Ron replied.

"Well, just who is this Lightning Bug?" Maxwell further questioned. "I've never heard of him."

"He's relatively new around here," L-Ron explained, "Truth be told, word on the street is that Booster has just been paying some guy to pretend he's a super villain so as to make himself into the new hero of Metropolis."

"How am I not surprised," Maxwell remarked with a sigh. Then, he asked with incredulous surprise, "Wait – we're walking from Queens to Metropolis?"

"It's not that far, m' lord," L-Ron assured him.

"Don't be stupid, L-Ron. To get to Metropolis from Queens, it'll take at least – " Maxwell stopped mid-sentence as he glanced to his right. "A cemetery? I don't remember a cemetery being here."

"It's a pretty recent development, Master Lord," L-Ron told him.

"A recent – " Maxwell began before he was hit with another severe migraine. This time the focus of the accompanying visions were his friends Ralph and Sue Dibny. He saw Sue at some time in the past with Dr. Light and the following lobotomy of the longtime criminal. He saw Ralph – no, it was just a shadow of Ralph, the remains of a broken man. And he saw a lifeless Sue, her body covered in burns; she had been murdered by Jean Loring. Maxwell let out a short cry as the images left him, stumbling forward as he did.

"Are you all right, m' lord?"

"Sue..." Maxwell said softly to himself, his gaze returning to his right, where the cemetery still stood. "Is she – is she in there?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," L-Ron replied. "Would you like to see for yourself?"

"No," Maxwell answered, "I _never _want to see that." Swallowing hard, he asked. "L-Ron, what is this place?"

"I don't understand what you mean, sir," L-Ron responded.

"Nothing," Maxwell abruptly said. "Just take me to Booster Gold."

* * *

Booster Gold stood arrogantly in the center of the Metropolis Bank opposite the _Daily Planet_ building. Across from him was a super villain costumed in black from head to toe and holding a bag of money he was obviously attempting to steal. Around them, the bank costumers watched with worry and much interest simultaneously. "Don't worry, good citizens of Metropolis," Booster assured them, "I'll take care of Lightning Bug!" 

Lightning Bug let out an artificial, villainous cackle. "Oh really? I'd like to see you try, Booster Gold!" He then charged forward, moving to his right as Booster went to stop him. However, the two ended up colliding with one another, falling back on their rear-ends with a thud.

"What are you doing?" Booster whispered harshly. "You were supposed to bear right!"

"I did," Lightning Bug shot back, also in an angry whisper.

"I meant _my _right – _pay attention!_" Booster clarified with much annoyance as he scrambled to his feet. "Never fear," he addressed his audience. "I _meant _to do that. As you can see, I have knocked this _very_ _clumsy _super villain off his feet!"

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Lightning Bug kicked his right foot out, tripping a very surprised Booster Gold. Laughing more convincingly, Lightning Bug sneered, "Booster will have to do _much _better than that if he expects to beat _anyone_."

'This isn't part of the _plan_," Booster desperately tried to remind his enemy, who now appeared to be a much more formidable opponent who was invested in the outcome of the fight. Seeing that his reasoning wasn't working – Lighting Bug was trying to follow through with a right hook – Booster activated his force field and pleaded, "Now calm down!" Unconvinced, Lightning Bug simply scowled. "Fine, I'm _sorry_," Booster semi-sincerely apologized as quickly as he could, "Maybe I should have been more specific earlier..."

"What was that, Booster?" Lightning Bug inquired. "I have a terrible tendency not to pay attention."

"I said I was – "

Before Booster could finish, however, both he and Lightning Bug heard someone clear his throat very loudly to Booster's right. "Huh?"

There stood a very cross Maxwell Lord, who eyed them with much annoyance. "Just what the heck are you two idiots doing?"

"M-Max?" Lightning Bug stuttered as Booster stood there wide-eyed in shock.

"I would expect this sort of thing from Booster, but you, _Ted_ – I thought you had '_matured_,'" Maxwell reprimanded.

"How – how are you –" Booster stammered.

Max sighed. "I think we need to have a long talk..."

* * *

"...And somehow – after _you _killed me – I woke up in my bed," Beetle finished explaining. "Then, I tracked down Booster and well, I guess I got bored hanging out in Booster's apartment, and thus, Lightning Bug was born." 

"So that's what happened while I was wherever it was I was," Maxwell said rather thoughtfully, trying his best to digest what Booster and Beetle had just told him in Booster's apartment. "But why _Lightning Bug _of all names?"

Booster and Beetle exchanged embarrassed frowns. "We kind of had a few drinks in us when we came up with the whole idea..." Booster sheepishly admitted.

"That's beside the point," Beetle interjected with suspicion, "How can we know if we can trust you?"

"Of course you can trust me!" Maxwell defended himself, but soon added as an afterthought, "Most of the time, anyway"

"_You shot me in the head,_" Beetle pointedly reminded him.

"First of all," Maxwell at once grew indignant, "How can either of you even think that was me?"

"Well, he looked like you and he acted like you...um, sort of," Booster said, "Although, I seem to remember a time when you were a lot more of a sissy."

"You know," Beetle chimed in reflectively, "Now that you mention it, it did seem a little out of character."

"A _little_?" Maxwell questioned in disbelief.

"Okay, so maybe it _was_ completely out of character," Beetle reluctantly gave in.

"Exactly!" Maxwell stated, obviously still offended, "To think that _I _would ever try to kill – "

"Didn't you try to kill your boss or something?" Booster then asked.

"Good point, Booster," Beetle said with an enthusiastic nod, "He _did_."

Maxwell grimaced. "Okay, maybe I did, but that was a long time ago. I've changed since then. I've grown a lot. You know, redemption and all that."

"Sure..." Beetle rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms.

"Will you stop that?" Maxwell demanded heatedly.

"Well, you _did _put a bullet in my head," Beetle snapped.

"That you miraculously recovered from?" Maxwell countered.

Beetle frowned at this glaring hole in his argument against his former friend and leader. "I'm still working on figuring that out..."

"And what about you?" Maxwell now sharply interrogated Booster Gold. "Are you still on the everyone-hates-and-doesn't-trust-Maxwell-Lord bandwagon, too?"

"Well, I _never _trusted you," Booster informed him, "But the fact that you sabotaged the League for so long just to make us ineffectual - "

"That's my second point!" Maxwell exclaimed, more furious than before. "Who the heck says _my _league was ineffectual? We had a pretty good run, if I do say so myself. Or do you forget that we beat the likes of Doomsday and Despero? Not to mention all the money I was able to pull in. We had international status!"

"You know, he has a point, Beetle," Booster agreed.

"I guess he does," Beetle admitted. "I mean, now that I actually think about it, we weren't _that _ineffectual."

"That's right," Maxwell reasoned, "So either I was some pretty dumb evil criminal mastermind – _which I wasn't _– or some sort of imposter is – was – pretending to be me."

"Okay, saying it wasn't you," Booster said, "then who was it that made the League so ineffectual?"

"The League was _not _ineffectual!" Maxwell shouted.

"Oh, right," Booster frowned, looking confused. "I forgot we established that point."

"You know," Maxwell continued, still irritated, "considering that my mind was controlled by an evil computer, I was shot _twice_, my body was possessed, burning out what little super abilities I had, I had brain cancer, almost died, and my consciousness was placed inside a cyborg, making me more machine than man, I'd say I managed to be a pretty good leader of a decent league that maybe had a few, ineffective members, but I won't mention any names."

"Wow, Max," Booster commented, "You have been through a lot."

"Tell me about it," Maxwell said.

"Wait a minute – " Beetle interrupted, questioning with surprise, "You're a cyborg?"

"Yes," Maxwell answered, "Well, I was – now I'm not sure what I am. Don't you remember, though?" Beetle and Booster had blank expressions on their faces. "Come on," Maxwell pressed, "I had a funeral!"

"You did?" Booster asked.

"Of course I did – I practically died, or did you forget?"

"Not, it's just that, well, I guess I just assumed that after Wonder Woman broke your neck, you'd just lie there for a bit, and then they'd just dump your body somewhere," Booster explained.

"I'm not talking about _that!_" Maxwell snapped with a shudder. "I'm talking about when I had a brain tumor – "  
"You had a brain tumor?" Booster cut in.

"Yes!" Maxwell impatiently replied, "And that's why the aliens took my human conscience and put it in - oh, never mind. Just forget it."

"Wait," Beetle stated, trying his best to put the pieces of his shattered memories together, "I think – I think I sort of remember?"

"You do?" Maxwell asked.

"Yes," Blue Beetle answered, "I do. There's something about this place. It's like a dream almost."

"More like a nightmare," Booster muttered.

"Yes! A terrible nightmare," Maxwell enthusiastically concurred.

"Whatever you call it," Beetle went on, "the way things happen here is almost nonsensical. It's hard for me to wrap my head around it, but there were times when I _knew _I was in a dream. And now that I'm confronted with it, I'm starting to see more clearly – the way J'onn and the others had acted, your bizarre explanation about being involved with Checkmate, the fact that parts of our lives seem to be missing, forgotten, rewritten. I mean, why wouldn't Superman care that one hundred pounds of Kryponite were stolen, and why can't any of us remember that Maxwell was a cyborg _except _this Maxwell? In fact, why did I even _have _one hundred pounds of Kryponite stored in my warehouse for anyway? Everything is playing out like it would in a dream."

"So, then how do we wake up?" Booster inquired.

"I don't know," Beetle replied. "To be honest, I thought I _had _woken up."

Maxwell glanced at Beetle curiously. "Hmm?"

"Well, like I said, I woke up in bed after you – I mean the _other _you – shot me. However, there was something else. I heard a voice before waking up," Beetle explained. Then, with hesitation, he said, "It was Sue."

"Sue," Maxwell looked surprised, "You don't mean – "

"I can't say," Beetle interjected. "But it's been bugging me ever since."

Booster frowned and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Okay, you both know I don't believe in angels or anything like that, but do you think she might be the one who saved your life?"

"I'm not sure," Beetle sighed with frustration. "After I heard her, I just woke up in my bed. At first I thought I had awaken from what must have been a strange nightmare, but unfortunately, I soon found out that I was wrong and that I _had _been shot and killed. But now I think I just had a dream within a dream - or something."

"But what about Sue?" Maxwell pressed, "What did she say?"

"That's just it," Beetle answered, "She said 'Please, stay with us, Ted.'"

"'Stay with us, Ted?'" Booster repeated with perplexity.

"It's weird, right?" Beetle said, "But now I'm thinking that maybe she _is _alive and what happened to Sue in this world wasn't real at all. It's all just a bad dream."

"It could just be wishful thinking," Maxwell bitterly pointed out. "Still, we should find Ralph and talk to him about it. I can't even imagine how he must be handling all this."

Beetle frowned. "Uh, Booster's not talking to Ralph these days."

"Don't remind me..." Booster groaned, hanging his head.

"What do you mean, he's not talking to you?" Maxwell questioned. "This is the time when he needs you two the most."

Beetle glanced over at his ashamed friend and asked, "Should I show him or do you want to?"

"You do it," Booster responded in self-pity, "I don't want to think about it." Then, he added sharply, "I don't know why you had to tape it, though."

Shrugging, Beetle responded, "I found your public lambasting amusing," as he grabbed a VHS tape from the shelf and popped it in Booster's VCR. On the television, a recording of a press conference came on; it was the one of Ralph Dibny – also know as Elongated Man – speaking very harshly about his one time friend Booster Gold, who he blamed for both the death of his beloved wife, Sue Dibny, as well as Blue Beetle's.

As the press conference drew to an end, Beetle flipped off the television, and Maxwell grimaced. "Ouch."

"I know," Booster agreed. "The things I'll do to protect Ted's well-being. Do you know he _insists _that I act this standoffish just so I alienate everyone?"

"That's because I can't have people poking around here," Beetle informed him, "I need to say hidden for awhile until I can figure out what the heck is going on. After all, I'm supposed to be dead."

"Yeah, yeah," Booster muttered begrudgingly. "It still stinks that Ralph hates me so much. It stinks that _everyone _hates me so much."

"It can't be that bad," Maxwell offered sympathetically.

"Oh, it is," Booster assured him. "They all think I'm a fraud and an ass. But it's hard to pretend I'm sad about Beetle's death when I know he's alive."

"But at least nobody thinks you're an evil psychopath," Maxwell reminded him. "I can't imagine what everyone must think of me here."

"Actually, no one really cares about that," Booster told him with a shrug.

"_What?_"

"He's right," Beetle confirmed. "It's strange, but nobody seems to be that troubled by the fact that you were a spy for so long or that you killed me, even though I was supposed to be one of your closest friends. Actually, the real reason why Wonder Woman killed you was because you had some sort of control on Superman."

"But surely everyone was _upset_, right?" Maxwell questioned desperately.

"I suppose they were kind of upset," Beetle said, "But that was only Booster and a few other JLI members, and they were actually upset about me being dead and not about you being evil."

"Is this true, Booster?" Maxwell interrogated.

"I'm sorry, Max," Booster apologized. "I guess I should have cared, but for whatever reason I just wasn't really moved by it."

"What do you mean, you weren't 'moved' by it? How could you not be?"

"I just wasn't surprised, I guess."

"How were you not surprised?" Maxwell fiercely questioned.

"Uh...it's the dream thing! That's it! It's completely messing with our minds, you know," Booster rationalized.

"He's probably right," Beetle stood up for his best friend. "Our behaviors and actions shouldn't make sense. After all, in a dream, you don't act as you normally would."

"But – " Maxwell attempted to protest.

"Unless, of course, you want us to consider you shooting me 'normal' behavior on your part," Beetle spoke over him.

"_Fine_," Maxwell conceded.

"I'm still sorry, Max," Booster repeated. "And now that I think about it, I'm actually really happy and relieved to find out that you're not a psychopath, after all."

"Thanks," Maxwell snidely mumbled.

"You're welcome," Booster replied, not recognizing the sarcasm in Maxwell's tone. "Hey, by the way, what happened to L-Ron?"

"Yeah," Beetle added, "didn't you say that he's the one who took you to us?"

"He did," Maxwell answered, pausing thoughtfully. "But now I can't remember where he went. Did either of you see him at the bank?"

"No," Booster replied, "although, I can't even remember us leaving the bank. How did we even get here?"

"I'm not sure," Maxwell said. "L-Ron was walking me to the bank, and then I was _at _the bank and L-Ron wasn't. But I guess I was so distracted at seeing you both act so ridiculously, I just forgot about him completely."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you two are over analyzing this too much," Beetle interjected. "It's a dream, remember? There doesn't need to be an explanation. I mean, don't you think it was odd that nobody even seemed to react to seeing Maxwell Lord – who was just recently killed on international television – waltz right in and completely stop our fight?"

"Oh, yeah," Booster remembered, "I keep forgetting."

"But how can you be so certain it is a dream?" Maxwell then asked Beetle. "I mean, I'm not saying it isn't a plausible explanation, but we can't know for sure, can we?"

"It's just this _feeling _I have suddenly – as I said, it had been lingering in my mind for awhile, but with you now here, I just _know_," Beetle replied.

"Excuse me," a sudden voice came from the entrance to Booster Gold's apartment. There, at the doorway, was L-Ron sticking his head in. "I'm sorry to interrupt – "

"L-Ron!" Booster heartily greeted L-Ron. "It's been so long! How have you been?"

"I am well, thank you," L-Ron curtly responded. "I just need our beloved leader for a moment." He then addressed Maxwell; "If you could just come with me, sir."

"Sure..." Maxwell agreed, telling Booster and Beetle, "I'll just be a moment," before disappearing out into the hallway behind L-Ron.

Beetle looked on with a suspicious eye. "You do realize, Booster, that L-Ron just randomly showed up here, don't you?"

"He did?" Booster appeared confused. "Oh, right, dream thing – got it."

"Listen, Booster, I don't know if we can trust him," Beetle continued, "L-Ron could easily just be a figment of our imaginations. Heck, this new Maxwell Lord could be a figment of our imaginations."

"All right..." Booster trailed off with uncertainty. Then he asked, "But, Beetle, how do you know that _I'm _not a figment of your imagination?"

Beetle seemed thrown off by this question. "I don't know," he honestly answered. "Maybe you are just a figment of my imagination. It's possible. Both you and Max could easily just be part of my freaky dream."

"Or you could be part of _my _dream," Booster pointed out, "Neither of us can really know for sure." With this, the two longtime friends exchanged quizzical stares, each skeptical now of whether the other one was actually truly himself or merely existed in his mind.

* * *

Meanwhile, L-Ron had led Maxwell to the elevator of Booster's apartment building, which was taking them down to the first floor. "Just what is this all about, L-Ron?" Maxwell questioned. 

"You will see, m' lord. Try to relax," L-Ron advised.

"I _am _relaxed," Maxwell said in a strained voice, tapping his foot anxiously.

"Of course you are, sir," L-Ron remarked, clearly not convinced.

"I just don't see why you couldn't just tell me what you needed to tell me in the hall. Why do we have to go all the way outside for?"

"As I said, you will see, m' lord," L-Ron repeated.

"See _what?_" Maxwell demanded. "You're acting strangely suspicious, L-Ron. First you disappear and now you - "

"I thought you were relaxed, sir?" L-Ron cut in.

"_I am relaxed!_" Maxwell exclaimed tensely. He then narrowed his eyes and stared at L-Ron warily. "Is there any reason I shouldn't be relaxed?"

"No, no reason," L-Ron quickly answered, turning away from Maxwell's glare. The two stood silently on the elevator for a few moments before the cybernetic life form began to whistle in an attempt to feign innocence.

Growing edgy, Maxwell stated, "Now, listen here, L-Ron, I want you to tell me exactly what is going on or – "

The elevator jolted to an abrupt stop and the doors opened. "Come, your impatientness, and you'll have the answers you're looking for."

Maxwell watched as L-Ron made his way out of the elevator and frowned. Eyebrows furrowing in doubt and a knot forming in his stomach, he thought, _Why do I have such a bad feeling about this…?_ Yet, despite his urge to go back upstairs to Beetle and Booster, Maxwell complied with his robot assistant and stepped out of the elevator. He proceeded across the lobby and to the exit, where L-Ron had slipped out to the sunny streets of Metropolis. _Wasn't it just night time? _Maxwell wondered as he reluctantly pushed through the revolving door, finding himself on the city block. To his dismay, however, the street was completely swarming with police vehicles, their lights flashing and their sirens wailing. Civilians, as well as various members of the media, gathered around, curious to see what was occurring.

"Maxwell Lord, you're under arrest," one police officer said into a megaphone. "Please, put your hands on your head."

"Uh, I think there's been a mistake..." Maxwell nervously said as he fretfully gazed at the spectacle before him.

"I said 'put your hands on your head!'" the officer repeated as the other police officers raised their guns defensively, all pointed directly at the billionaire.

"All right, all right," Maxwell obeyed, raising his hands up. At this, two officers approached him, each one grabbing a hold of one of his arms and ushering him forward toward one of the police cars. "Hey, wait a minute!" Maxwell tried to protest, "What are you doing?"

"We're arresting you for the murder of Blue Beetle and for the heinous crime of mind controlling Superman," one of the officers explained to him.

"But that wasn't me!" Maxwell started to say as the officers slammed him against a police vehicle and handcuffed his hands behind his back.

"Sure it wasn't," the second one sneered. "So it was just some _other _Maxwell Lord then?"

"I'm telling you the truth," Maxwell continued to argue when L-Ron, smugly watching some distance away, caught his attention. "L-Ron, you did this, didn't you? You set me up!" he shouted to his former loyal assistant.

"Just doing my civic duty, m' lord," L-Ron said simply.

"Like hell!" Maxwell countered fiercely as the officers finished handcuffing him and pulled him from the car, "You only care about keeping _my_ fortune to yourself!"

"I cannot tell a lie," L-Ron admitted his guilt without a hint of remorse. "What you say is true."

"You _traitor!_" Maxwell declared, irate, as the policemen now tried to put him in the back of their vehicle. "Disgusting, sneaky, selfish, treacherous - _thing!_" The second officer slammed the car door close on Maxwell as he continued to rant, giving way to more vulgar obscenities.

L-Ron, however, was unmoved. "Sticks and stones, sir..."

_To Be Continued..._


	2. ICBIITJL! Part 2 0f 3

Thanks for all those who have been reading! Now, moving on to Part 2...Enjoy!

* * *

"I wonder what's taking Max so long," Booster mused, adding, "Uh, if that even _is _Max."

"Hmm, it has been awhile," Beetle admitted. "Or, at least it _feels _like it's been awhile."

"How long has it been?" Booster asked.

"I don't know. There's no concept of time in a dream."

"Okay, but say if there was such a thing as time in a dream – hypothetically speaking. How long would you think it's been?"

Beetle shrugged. "I don't know. Twenty minutes, maybe?"

"That seems to be right," Booster concurred. "I can see it being twenty minutes." The two were quiet until Booster finally inquired, "So, why do you think we're in this dream for?"

"I'm not sure," Beetle answered. "It could be for a whole number of reasons."

"That's really not comforting _or _helpful," Booster pointed out.

"Well, at least I figured out what's going on," Beetle snapped. "That's more than what you've done."

"I've done stuff," Booster insisted, crossing his arms.

"Like _what_?" Beetle pressed. Booster frowned, but before he could come up answer, Beetle suddenly changed the subject, "What happened to your wife?"

"My wife?" Booster repeated with confusion. "I don't have a wife."

"Yes, you do," Beetle retorted. "Her name is Gladys, and she's sixty five."

"Ick!" Booster's face contorted in disgust. "That's _gross!_"

"It's true," Beetle stated, adding, "And yes, it _is _gross."

"Then why on Earth would I marry her, huh?"

"Because she's rich which, admittedly, makes it a little bit more understandable."

"But still..." Booster trailed off, and then inquired curiously, "How rich?"

"_Very _rich."

"Really?" Booster seemed intrigued for a moment before he shook his head and stated, "This is absurd, Ted. If I had a wife, I think I would know about it."

"I'm telling you, you do," Beetle persisted.

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"_No, I don't._"

"_Yes, you do._"

"No, I – " Booster stopped mid-sentence, as a memory unexpectedly stirred. "Wait – I _do _have a wife."

"So you remember now?"  
"Yes," Booster replied, mumbling an additional, "unfortunately..."

"For whatever reason, she doesn't exist here, though," Beetle went on, "and no one seems to remember her."

"Hey, maybe this _isn't_ a baddream, after all!" Booster suggested optimistically.

Beetle looked at his friend doubtfully. "In any case, who knows what else we're forgetting about or what else has been altered without explanation? Do you know how serious this is, Booster? Our whole lives have been tampered with, and we don't even know the half of it!"

"I guess," Booster said, "But I'm just glad I'm no longer married to the old bat anymore."

Beetle sighed. "Why do I even bother?" Frowning, he then stated, "Max should have been back by now."

"It has been a while – uh, I think," Booster concurred. After a moment, he then asked, "Did you put the television on?"

"No. Why?"

"Because it's on," Booster pointed to across the room, where his television set was broadcasting a breaking news story. "And normally, we would consider that odd, because televisions just don't go on on their own. However, since this is a dream, weird things like that can happen for no reason - right?"

"Right," Beetle confirmed. "No explanation needed. But it's good that you're starting to notice these things."

Both men walked over to the television set and watched the news coverage. To their shock, they saw film of Maxwell Lord being arrested right outside Booster's apartment building just minutes before, the arrest complete with dozens of police cars and even more officers. "How did we miss _that?_" Booster questioned, scratching his head in confusion as the coverage switched to an exclusive interview with L-Ron. "Oh, right, the dream thing."

"This is not good," Beetle stated grimly.

"Yeah," Booster consented, "I mean, I can't believe L-Ron sold out Max. What is this dream coming to?"

"Haha," Beetle sarcastically remarked.

"But maybe it's nothing to worry about," Booster offered, "Couldn't that Max just have been a figment of our imagination like the one that killed you?"

"Maybe, but I just got this _feeling _that it's not," Beetle explained.

"You and your _feelings_," Booster commented offhandedly, "I thought you were supposed to be the _practical _one."

"This is a dream – "

"It's not supposed to be practical," Booster concluded for him. "I got it. But what do we do now?"

"Figure out what exactly is going on," Beetle answered, "And fast."

* * *

Beatriz Bonilla da Costa, also known as Fire, watched the newscast of Maxwell Lord's death with utter confusion from the headquarters of Checkmate. "I don't understand..."

"Fire," Amanda Waller, Checkmate's White Queen, questioned sharply, "Is there something wrong, or did you forget we have a meeting in _five minutes_?"

"It's the news," Fire tried to explain, eyebrows furrowing in perplexity. "Maxwell Lord has just been arrested."

"_So?_" Amanda Waller grew impatient.

"He was killed, wasn't he? Wonder Woman broke his neck. I mean, it was practically on every channel."

"_So?_"

"But then how is he alive?" Fire asked, "If Wonder Woman killed him _last week_, how is it that he's being arrested _today_? Doesn't anyone else think this is _weird_?"

"Fire, I don't know what you're talking about, but you _better _be at the meeting," Amanda Waller warned before marching away.

"None of this makes any sense," Fire continued to think aloud, the realization hitting her, "And why am I even a member of Checkmate for? What am I doing here...?"

Shortly later, Amanda Waller came out of the conference room and angrily stated, "_Fire_, the meeting is – Fire?" To her surprise, though, Fire was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

"I know my rights!" Maxwell declared as he was ushered into what could only be described as a strange hybrid between a regular federal prison and the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. "I'm entitled to a lawyer!"

"The Justice League has already decided the verdict of guilty," the prison guard informed Maxwell, pushing him along.

"But they can't do that," Maxwell protested, "What about my trial by jury? It's in the Constitution!"

"President Wayne rewrote the Constitution."

"_President Wayne? _As in _Bruce _Wayne?"

"That's right. He was just appointed to his second term as United States President," the youthful prison guard elaborated.

"He was _appointed_? Don't you mean _elected_?"

The prison guard laughed. "Everyone knows that Superman appoints the president. He is, after all, emperor of the world."

"_What?!_"

Another, burly prison guard sitting at a desk cleared his throat as the two approached. "And this is?"

"Prisoner number 1576," the first prison guard answered, "Maxwell Lord."

"Ah, we've been waiting for him," The second guard said, "Okay, Mr. Lord, please step forward and strip down slowly."  
"I am _not _stripping down!" Maxwell argued, "I _demand_ to see a lawyer!"

"He's a little crazy," the first prison guard whispered to the second, who nodded in understanding.

"Then he came to the right place," the second said lightly.

"I am not crazy," Maxwell snapped. "It's all of you who have seemed to have lost your minds. Just go and ask Booster Gold – he'll tell you the truth about me!"

"Booster Gold?" the second, obviously more seasoned guard questioned. "He's been working with you?"  
"_Yes_," Maxwell answered.

"Really? That's interesting." The second guard raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the first guard, who made his leave knowingly. "Don't worry, Mr. Lord - we'll go fetch Booster Gold for you right away."

Maxwell frowned, at once realizing his blunder. "Uh, I think you misunderstood - "

"Mr. Lord, please strip down," The second repeated his original command.

"I already said – "

"Mr. Lord," the second spoke over him, "I would suggest you do as I say, or I'll have no but to _force_ you into submission."

Maxwell winced and reluctantly complied, uncomfortably eyeing the other additional prison guards stationed throughout the corridor. _To think_, he said to himself, _with all the crimes I have committed, I finally get arrested for the one that I didn't do...this is _so_ embarrassing. _

"He looks clean," the second prison guard said to another nearby after what seemed to Maxwell like the longest minute of his life. "Get him his uniform and send him to his cell."

"My cell?" Maxwell's voice cracked. "For, uh, how long?"

The second guard chuckled. "You've been sentenced for life, Mr. Lord – two consecutive terms, in fact."

"Wait – there must be some mistake – there _has _to be!" Maxwell pleaded in vain.

"Come on, now," the third guard – who was quite intimidating at six foot six – threw him a gray prison uniform. "Hurry up and get dressed. The others are waiting for you."

This time, Maxwell was more eager to obey, and quickly threw on his new clothes. Once he was clothed again, he grew considerably calmer as he was harshly yanked forward by the physically imposing third guard to his prison cell. _This is only a dream_, he told himself repeatedly, _this is only a dream. And you'll eventually wake up. And you'll be rich again and happy and everything will be _normal. _This will _not _be for the rest of your life. This is only a dream..._

Before Maxwell knew it, he was in a prison cell, the door slamming closed behind him. In the dark shadows, he saw familiar faces of various super villains he and his Justice League had encountered throughout the years. Nervously, Maxwell choked out a weak laugh and leaned back against the thick, locked door. "Uh, hi there..."

"Well, if it isn't _the _Maxwell Lord," sneered the Riddler with amusement. "How's it feel to be on the other end of things?"

"Not so good," Maxwell answered truthfully, before quickly adding, "But, uh, I mean, it doesn't seem _too _bad here. Kind of nice and cozy...sort of…you know?" The super villains did not seem impressed and Maxwell, quite frightened, futilely pushed back even more against the locked door. "I think it's important that you all remember why I'm here – I _killed _Blue Beetle. That's right – _the _Blue Beetle! I shot him in the head – bang! Just like that. That makes me like – a _super_ super villain. I mean, how many of you can say you've killed a superhero, huh? Sure, he was like only third tier, but that's still _something_! I should be your role model, shouldn't I?"

The other inmates, however, simply broke out into hysterics at this assertion. "Look at this! He thinks he's the Joker!" The Scarecrow managed through his laughter and the others laughed harder.

Maxwell frowned, embarrassed. "Well, I…" he trailed off awkwardly before another idea struck him, "You know, I have a lot of money so I could really help you all out with – " He never got to finish, because the laughter grew worse.

"Now he thinks he's Lex Luthor!" Bane blasted and the laughter continued.

"How about the fact that I came back from the dead?" Maxwell sheepishly tried. "That was pretty impressive, right?"

"Please," Sinestro yawned. "We _always _come back from the dead. It's what we do."

"Oh..." His frown growing more severe as he looked around at his new hostile roommates, Maxwell weakly suggested, "Considering that we're going to be stuck here for awhile, how about we agree to try and get along – let bygones be bygones, you know?" Seeing that he had done very little to convince them, Maxwell then desperately mentioned, "Did I mention that I can control people's minds...?"

This led to the incarcerated super villains breaking out into complete hysterics, which caused Maxwell's face to grow both red and hot with humility. However, before any more words could be exchanged, abrupt shouting that came from down the corridor caught their attention. "Let me go! I am innocent! Like the Magna Carter says, guilty until proven innocent – no, wait – I mean, _innocent _until proven _guilty_. You can't ignore the Magna Carter! It was written by Abraham Lincoln and all those guys from Noah's Ark!" At once, Maxwell grimaced, recognizing the voice immediately.

Soon, the door to the large prison cell swung open and in stumbled an indignant Booster Gold, his colorful uniform replaced by a dull gray one. "That was quick," Maxwell commented, before saying, "You know, your knowledge of American history is really pathetic."

Upon hearing Maxwell who beside him, Booster turned to him and matter-of-factly defended himself, "Well, you forget that all that was Ancient history when I went to school." Then, remembering his current situation, he grew angry and pointed a wrathful finger at his colleague. "This is all your fault! Why did you tell the police that I was working with you for? As if my reputation wasn't bad enough!"

"I didn't tell them that you were working with me...exactly..." Maxwell remarked with a cringe. Whispering, he added, "Besides, do you really think this is the best time to argue given present company?"

"Huh?" Booster blinked and looked at the notorious criminals in front of him. Understanding, he began, "Ah...oh, hello there..."

"This seems to be our lucky day," Two-Face stated with a smirk, repeatedly flipping his coin. "Two do-gooders for the price of one."

Booster let out a nervous chuckle as he joined his comrade backed up against the unyielding prison door. "But, uh, didn't Max here tell you that he's a super villain? He even killed –"

Maxwell interjected with a shake of his head. "They didn't buy it."

"Oh," Booster frowned, but soon a new idea sprang into his head. "Hey, Max has got a lot of money, so I bet if – "

"That didn't work either," Maxwell informed him.

"Really?" Booster questioned with surprise. "Okay, how about this? Max can control your mind, just like he did with Superman – " This time, he didn't need Maxwell to cut in; he could tell by all the laughter that not a single one of them was taking him seriously. "So..." Booster started, turning to Maxwell. "This is bad, isn't it?"

"_Very_ bad," Maxwell agreed.

"And we're probably going to die, aren't we?"

"I'm thinking yes..."

"Don't be so alarmed," the Ultra-Humanite then spoke up through the hysterics of the others, noticing the white, fearful expressions on their faces. "You're just third tier – hardly worth our efforts. My associates are just trying to have a little fun at your expense. So just relax and enjoy your stay."

Maxwell and Booster exchanged skeptical glances, before Booster hesitantly replied. "All right..." With that, the two cautiously slide away from the hardened and insane inmates and moved to the farthest corner possible. Slumping against the wall, the two sat down, warily eyeing the rest of their cellmates. "Maybe this won't be so bad, after all," Booster offered and Maxwell immediately shot him a deadly glare. "All right, all right, so it's pretty bad even if they're not going to beat us to a bloody pulp. Seriously, this place could really use some renovation. Why on earth would anyone stick a bunch of deranged psychos in such a dark and dingy hell hole? Haven't they ever heard of lighting?"

Maxwell nodded in agreement. "This place could use a little color..." Changing the subject, he then asked, "So, how'd you wind up here?"

"Well, I – I think I was with Beetle watching you on TV and then – bam, I 'm here in handcuffs. This dream thing is really starting to get annoying."

"You mean _nightmare _thing," Maxwell corrected. "And, yes, it is. But at least with Beetle still out there, we have some hope of getting out of here."

"We _think _he's out there, but who really knows..." The two were silenced by this valid point and looks of misery quickly spread across their face as they remained miserably slumped against their prison wall.

* * *

"Oh, praise you Lord Jesus Christ!" a teary Mary Marvel exclaimed with overwhelming enthusiasm as she tightly embraced her old companion, Fire, who had tracked her down by Captain Marvel's side at the Rock of Eternity. "I just knew that you would never forsake me!"

Wincing in pain due to Mary's arms strongly wrapped around her, Fire awkwardly asked, "Could you let go now...?"

"Oh, right, sorry!" Mary apologized, pulling away and wiping the tears from her glassy eyes. "I'm just so happy to see you! But I knew that God wouldn't abandon me – that He'd hear my prayers. Because, Bea, you see – _everyone's gone crazy!_"

"I know," Fire replied but Mary, looking rather frantic herself, grabbed desperately onto Fire's arm.

"No, I mean they're _really, really crazy!_" She explained with frenzied emphasis. "I don't think there's a single happy person left in this entire world! Poor Sue is dead and Ralph is crazy and Beetle's dead and Max is crazy, but he's dead too, and then I thought you were all evil just like Max was - I am so glad you aren't – and now Ralph hates Booster who doesn't even care about Beetle and you don't care about Booster and nobody cares about Max even though he was our friend – I mean, _I _care about Max – and Superman is gone and nobody can seem to remember anything about the way everything is supposed to be!"

"Mary, I think you should try and calm down," Fire suggested, but to no avail.

"And my brother," Mary whispered, glancing over at her shoulder to where the new Shazam seemed completely oblivious to either her of Fire's presence. "He's the worse! He _thinks _he's talking to the seven deadly sins but you _can't _talk to sins! They're not real people! So who is he talking to, Bea? Who is he talking to?" Mary's voice had considerably risen in volume by the time she concluded. She shook Fire hysterically and started to sob again.

"Uh..." Fire was lost for words as she stared down at the young superhero.

"But do you see?" Mary went on through her weeping. "The whole world's turned upside down and inside out! But I'm so happy that God has sent you to me and that you're not evil after all! I thought I was the only sane person left."

_That's debatable, _Fire thought, but said instead, "Listen, Mary, you have to try and pull yourself together. Otherwise, we'll never get out of this mess."

"Okay," Mary whimpered.

"Now, what the hell could be causing all this weirdness?" Fire mused. "Maybe it's Doctor Destiny. He could be manipulating us with some sort of dream world, right?"

"Right!" Mary earnestly concurred. "And that would mean everyone's not insane!"

"So that just means we should try to find the others and figure a way to wake up," Fire concluded. "I guess we should start with Max..."

"But Max is – is – dead, because Wonder Woman...did that – that awful thing to his neck..." Mary stammered with a shaky voice, looking ready to begin crying once more.

"Actually, he's not," Fire informed her.

"Really?"

"Turns out he's alive, after all, which is what made me realize this whole place is completely messed up. They just arrested him, but I figure, given that he's just miraculously risen from the dead, he might be the best person to start with."

"Do you mean we're going to break him out of jail?" Mary questioned, biting her lower lip nervously. Fire simply shrugged. "Golly, isn't that wrong?"

"It's a dream, so it's not _really _wrong," Fire reasoned. "Besides, it's about time you started to walk on the wild side a bit. That's what dreams are made for, after all."

Appearing confused, Mary innocently said, "I thought dreams were made for us to always keep in our hearts so that whenever we doubted we could simply turn to them and find the hope and faith to believe in ourselves and our ability to accomplish anything with God's help."

Fire's face contorted in some disgust. "Sometimes, Mary, you are too nauseating."

"What?" Mary blinked in confusion.

"Just forget it," Fire instructed, "And let's get going. We've got a prison to break into."

"But – " Mary began with a frown. Yet, as she turned her head to glance at Captain Marvel, clearly on the brink of insanity, her face grew resolute and she knew she had no choice but to follow Fire if she was ever going to save her brother.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Blue Beetle closed his eyes and with just a hint of hesitation, he knocked on the apartment door. No answer. Frowning, he knocked again. "Hello...?" Still no answer. Becoming frustrated, Beetle then began to pound on the door. "Hello! Open up!"

"Go away," Ralph's dejected voice carried through the thin walls from inside the apartment.

"Ralph, it's me," Beetle tried to explain. "It's Blue Beetle."

"That's not funny," Ralph snapped from inside. "Now get out of here."

"Don't you recognize my voice," Beetle persisted. "It's _Ted._"

There was a moment of silence and then the sound of the apartment door unlocking. Opening the door, an unshaven white-faced Ralph Dibny stood before Beetle, completely dumbfounded. "It is you. But – but you're dead...how can this be?"

"I'll explain, if you'll just let me – "

Ralph, however, interrupted, latching onto Beetle's shoulders. "If you're somehow alive, then you must know how to bring back Sue, right? That's why you're here, isn't it?

"Ralph..." Beetle trailed off dejectedly, staring at his broken friend with pity.

"Tell me, please, please tell me how I can bring her back," Ralph insisted. "Please, Ted, please."

"I don't know," Beetle answered truthfully. "But, I think if I could just explain – "

"You're lying!" Ralph venomously cut in. "You have to know how it can be done if you're here – here in the flesh. I know you were dead. So if you can come back, she can come back! There has to be a way! You're just keeping it from me! Why are you keeping it from me?"

"Ralph, listen to me, this isn't real," Beetle hastily answered.

"What?"

"It's not real," Beetle repeated. "We're in a dream."

"No, we're – what?" Ralph seemed unable to comprehend what Beetle was telling him as he stepped back, shaking his head.

"Can I come in now and explain?" Ralph nodded weakly and Beetle entered the apartment, closing the door behind him. Ralph's place was in shambles, uncared for and not cleaned for quite some time. Half eaten and many untouched leftovers from takeout dinners had been left piled in the kitchen area, leaving quite a strong odor. Beetle scrunched up his noise at the unpleasant stench but tried to ignore it as he turned to Ralph and said, "Now, I know this is going to be hard for you to understand, but I think Sue is alive."

"She – she is?" Ralph's eyes gazed past Beetle, disbelieving what he was being told.

"I heard her," Beetle went on. "She brought me back to life – or something. Anyway, I think she's in the _real _world trying to communicate to us here."

"Why should I believe you?" Ralph questioned sharply. "You come in here and you think – how do I even know that you're real? That you're not just something I'm dreaming up?"

"Because I'm not," Beetle explained impatiently. "Look, we don't have a lot of time. Booster and – "

"No," Ralph interjected. "I don't want to hear it because I don't want anything to do with that fraud. He could have saved Sue and he just – "

"Ralph, I know this is hard for you," Beetle then offered, "But you have to believe me when I tell you Sue is alive."

"And why should I?"  
"Because, because..." Beetle trailed off as he tried to think of anything he could use to convince his friend. "You remember that Wonder Woman killed Max right?"

"Obviously."

"Well, what would you say if I told you he was still alive?"

"I would say – " Ralph started, but then his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why? Is he still alive?"

"Have a TV?" Beetle then asked.

"Yeah, but it doesn't work," Ralph gestured toward the small set in the living room. "I've been late on the bills..."

"Trust me," Beetle gave him a knowing smile and walked over to it as a skeptical Ralph followed him, taking a seat in his arm chair. "It'll work." Switching it on, a news broadcast appeared on the screen of Maxwell Lord's arrest earlier that day.

"How did you do that?"

"It's a dream – it doesn't need to make sense," Beetle rationalized. "Now pay attention. Does it look like Maxwell Lord is dead to you?"

Ralph shook his head. "This is – I don't believe you. I think you're just coming in here and trying to – I don't think you're even Ted. It's all a lie."

His patience wearing thin once more, Beetle clenched his fist and said, "Ralph, will you just _think _for a minute? I know you're upset, but if you just took a moment you'd see that none of this makes any sense! I mean, do you really think that Max could have gone all those years hiding his true intentions and no one – not even _J'onn_ or _Batman_ – was able to figure it out?"

"I don't care what you have to say. If you can't bring back Sue, then I just don't care."

"I'm telling you Sue is alive," Beetle persisted. "She's alive while we remain stuck in this ridiculous dream."

"Stop it!" Ralph shouted. "Just stop saying that!"

"It's true," Beetle stated relentlessly. "And if you would just listen to me, you'd start to realize that none of this is real, either. Come on, Ralph, do you honestly think that Max was working for Checkmate all this time?"

"Yes, I do," Ralph coldly answered

"And so you believe that he'd kill me as cruelly as he did without a second thought?"

"I guess so..."

"And that Max would leave his entire fortune to _L-ron?_"

It was then that Ralph Dibny grew so pale that he looked whiter than snow. His face had the expression of someone who had just been slapped out of a daze. He glanced over at Blue Beetle wide-eyed. "You're right..." he said softly before a small smile appeared on his face, his memories returning to him, and he began to laugh almost maniacally. "You're right!" he repeated, this time louder, springing to his feet. "I can't believe I didn't see it sooner, but now it all makes sense! Of course he wouldn't leave his fortune to L-ron! L-ron!" Ralph continued to laugh harder, doubling over. "It's all so absurd!"

"Uh, Ralph, are you all right...?" Beetle hesitantly asked, taking a step forward toward his friend.

"I'm better than all right!" Ralph exclaimed, suddenly jumping on his couch with joy. "I'm the happiest man alive! The nightmare is over! It's over! Well, not for Booster, because he's still married to that old hag – ha!"

"I don't know if we should be celebrating just yet," Beetle reminded him. "We still need to wake up – "

Ralph sprang off the couch and threw his arms around Beetle. "It's a miracle! Do you know I haven't showered in three weeks? Three weeks! But now I can shower again because the love of my life is still alive!"

"Eh..." Beetle managed, feeling immediately relieved when the unclean Ralph finally released him from his embrace.

Ralph, however, suddenly had a worry look on his face. "She is alive, right?" he asked, doubt in his voice. "And she – she hasn't experienced any of this dream, has she?"  
"I think – I think she's okay," Beetle answered as best he could. "But we won't know for certain unless we wake up."

Ralph nodded in understanding. "So how do we do that?"  
"Well, first we need to help break free Booster and Max," Beetle replied, adding, "Although, actually, I think Fire and Mary Marvel are taking care of that."

"They are? You mean, you've been talking to them, too?"

"No, I haven't."

"But then how do you know what they're doing?"

"Because," Beetle began, pensively furrowing his eyebrows as he pondered the question. Then, suddenly stumbling upon the revelation himself, he responded in some shock, "I'm the Spectre."

At this, Ralph burst into hysterics. "No, seriously, was it on the news or something?"

"I am being serious," Beetle countered. "I am the Spectre."

"No way. There's no way _you're _the Spectre."

"But I am. I don't know how or why, but I am the Spectre." After a thoughtful moment, Beetle added, "And you know, it's actually not that bad being the embodiment God's wrath. I kind of like it – sort of empowering. After all, I've never actually had super powers of my own before."

Ralph, though, was still not convinced. "If you're the Spectre, prove it."

"Well, most of my powers seem to have to do with killing people gruesomely, so it might not be such a good idea if I give you a demonstration. That being said, I can tell you that it's actually been more than five weeks since you took a shower, not three weeks."

"You know that?" Ralph inquired with a wince.

"Five weeks, two days, and seven hours to be precise. I'm practically omniscient now, so I pretty much know everything."

"So then you should know how we can get out of here," Ralph eagerly pointed out.

Beetle grimaced. "My abilities seemed to be limited to this realm of reality, unfortunately, although, I seem to have all these memories about some Crisis on Infinite Earths..."

"What?"

"We'll walk and talk," Beetle suddenly said, heading toward the door.

"Wait, where are we going?" Ralph questioned, following his Supper Buddies teammate out into the hall while still wearing his bathrobe and slippers.

"To the prison holding Max and Booster," Beetle explained curtly.

"But I thought Fire and Mary were taking care of that," Ralph said, locking his apartment door as quickly as he could before he continued to trail after Beetle, who was walking much faster.

"They are, but that's not what I'm concerned about."

"Then what is it? What's the problem?"

"Booster and a nuclear powered submarine."

Ralph sighed and shook his head. "Oh yeah, 'cause that makes a lot of sense..."

_To Be Continued..._


	3. ICBIITJL! Part 3 of 3

_I Can't Believe it _**IS **_the Justice League! (Part 3 of 3)_

The wall to the prison cell which Maxwell Lord and Booster Gold stood had been incinerated, opening the way to the outside wall. The two men watched dumbfounded as the criminals who had been locked away with them cheered for joy and hastily made their escape. "Well, that was kind of odd and unexpected," Booster commented as the green flames slowly began to dye out, leaving nothing but charred stone.

"What was more odd and unexpected is the fact that everyone just jumped out from eleven stories up," Maxwell stated, shuddering as the crisp wind from outside blew into the now open prison cell.

"That is true, although I guess some of them can fly..." Booster said thoughtfully.

"Did you see anyone fly out?" Maxwell questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Now that you mention it, no, I didn't. I guess they all really did just plummet to their deaths or disappear or something..." Booster conceded, before shaking his head and suddenly declaring, "Wait, _green flames!_"

Blinking in confusion, Maxwell turned to his companion; it only took him a second more to catch on. "You don't think...?"

"Of course I think! It had to be Fire!" Booster exclaimed with excitement as he eagerly ran over to the edge of the room that now overlooked the rest of Metropolis. Hesitantly, Maxwell followed behind him.

"Do we have to get that close to the edge...?" Maxwell asked, warily looking out at the city that seemed so far below them.

"Stop being so – " Booster began, but stopped mid-sentence as soon as he saw Fire a short distance above them, taking out some of the gunmen at the top of the prison who had been shooting at her with a few blasts of green flames. "Fire! You came to rescue us!"

"Booster?" Fire looked down in perplexity as she finished with the gunmen. She anxiously flew down to them, joining them in their demolished cell. "You mean, you were arrested, too?"

"Yeah..." Booster admitted sheepishly. "But wait, if you're not here to save me, then why are you here?"

"To get Max, obviously," Fire explained curtly.

"Oh..." Booster trailed off disappointedly.

"Anyhow, what the hell is going on here?" Fire impatiently demanded, turning suspiciously to Maxwell. "How on Earth are you still alive?"

"It's a long story..." Max replied. "You see, I wasn't actually the Maxwell Lord that murdered Ted or that Wonder Woman killed."

"Oh," Fire mumbled, obviously let down by Maxwell's simple explanation. "Is that it? Really?" Both Maxwell and Booster nodded. "Well, that wasn't really a long story at all," she dully remarked, placing her hand on her hip.

"I'm glad to see that you're oh so thrilled to learn about my innocence," Maxwell sarcastically jibed.

"Sorry, but I just honestly thought the whole thing would be a lot more interesting," Fire explained with a shrug. "Like, I don't know, maybe you were brought back from the dead for a second chance and were on the path to redemption or something for having killed Beetle. I mean, without your darker side, you really are just a sissy after all. But I suppose that's a good thing...I suppose..."

"Thanks," Maxwell snidely muttered.

"Anyway," Fire ignored Maxwell's last remark, and questioned, "Is there anything else that I should know?"

"Well, Beetle's alive," Booster offered.

Fire's eyes widened in shock. "He is?"

"Yep," Booster happily answered. "Turns out that after the _other _Max killed him, he heard Sue calling to him to 'stay with us' and then woke up in his bed. Now he believes that we're in some kind of dream world and that Sue is alive in the real world – I think."

"Now _that's _interesting," Fire stated as Max rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Mary and I were thinking the same thing – "

"Wait – Mary's with you?" Maxwell interrupted.

"Yeah," Fire replied. "She's around here somewhere..."

Just then, Mary Marvel can swooping in, beaming from ear to ear as soon as she saw Maxwell Lord. "Max, you're alive!" She exclaimed, at last landing and throwing her arms around him as tears came to her eyes. "I'm so glad, even if you are evil!"

"I'm not evil," Maxwell managed to choke out through her crushing hug. "Mary, I think you're cutting off my circulation..."

"Oh, sorry," Mary apologized, blushing as she broke from him. "But, you aren't evil? Really?"

"_No,_" Maxwell answered, adding, "I don't know why this keeps coming as a surprise to everyone."

"I'm sorry, Max," Mary lowered her head in shame. "I should have known better than to doubt you. What a terrible friend I've been."

Maxwell frowned. "It's okay..."

"No, it's not!" Mary sobbed. "How could I think so badly of you? But then, everything had gotten so strange and everyone was acting even stranger and I didn't know what to think anymore. It was such a dark time, you know, and I was so frightened. Please, Max, please forgive me!"

"Well, at least someone is _sorry _for doubting my integrity." Maxwell shot an angry glare at both Fire and Booster. "So, I forgive you, Mary."

"Thank you!" Mary gushed through her tears, embracing him firmly once more.

"Hey, Mary," Booster spoke up, "Beetle's alive, too."

"He is?" Mary again detached herself from Maxwell and directed her attention toward Booster. "Oh, this is the happiest day of my life! First, Fire came and found me and then to find out that Maxwell is really alive and good and now to learn that Beetle's okay, too, and – Booster, it's you!" Finally realizing that it was Booster Gold, whom she had not seen in so long, addressing her, she immediately ran to him and hugged him tightly. "Booster, I've missed you so much! I didn't mean to completely abandon you!"

"Oh, it was nothing, really..." Booster strained to say, finding the girl's super strength too much for his mortal body, especially without his uniform.

"As heart warming as this little reunion is, I think we better get going," Fire cut in.

Mary Marvel let go of Booster and nodded. "Right," she agreed. She then smiled. "The Lord really is great, bringing the whole team back together again like this! Well, without Beetle...and Ralph...and Sue...and L-Ron..."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, Mary," Fire muttered impatiently. "God is good and all that crap. Let's just get a move on it, all right? Booster, where's your uniform?"

"Uh, the police took it from me..." Booster responded, averting his eyes to the floor.

"I'll go retrieve it," Fire stated. "Mary, you take care of getting these two out of here to safety, okay?"

"Got it!" Mary agreed, and Fire then blasted the prison cell's door, proceeding into the hallway and out of sight. Mary merrily turned to Booster and Maxwell and asked. "Ready?"

"I think I'll just take the stairs – " Maxwell started nervously, but his protests were in vain, for Mary joyfully took a hold of both Maxwell and Booster's hands and flew out of the prison cell and into the Metropolis sky.

* * *

"So _that's _what happened during Crisis on Infinite Earths," Ralph said as he and Beetle arrived outside the clearly chaotic prison located in Metropolis.

"Strange, isn't it?" Beetle remarked.

"I'd say...wow..." Ralph trailed off, still trying to digest everything he had just learned. Then, he solemnly added, "I'm glad to know what really happened to Barry." The two were quiet for a moment, and then Ralph asked, "Why did we stop here for?"

"You'll see," Beetle replied ambiguously.

"Okay..." Ralph looked at him skeptically. Growing bored as the two waited, he began to whistle, glancing around his surroundings. Gaze falling to his left, his mouth gaped open as he saw a giant sea monster terrorizing downtown Metropolis. "What is that?!"

"That?" Beetle looked over at the massive undersea creature, as well. Then, he replied matter-of-factly, "Oh, that just has to do with the Booster and the whole nuclear powered submarine thing I told you about before."

"It does...?" Ralph frowned severely, his eyebrows furrowed in fret. Shaking his head, he then demanded, "Beetle, why are we still waiting here for? What is going on?"

"Just a few more seconds..." Beetle muttered in reply.

"Ralph! Beetle!" the familiar voice of Mary Marvel suddenly exclaimed happily, as she, with Maxwell Lord and Booster Gold at her sides, came flying down to ecstatically greet them. "I'm so happy to see you both!"

As soon as they landed, a very white Maxwell Lord stumbled forward. "I think I'm going to be sick..."

Booster's face contorted a bit in disgust as he watched Maxwell turn from the rest of them, hunched over, and threw up. "Eek..." Then, he looked over at Beetle and Ralph; as soon as he saw the latter, he grew red and muttered, "Oh, hi Ralph..."

Growing equally embarrassed, Ralph gave Booster an uneasy, "Hey Booster...how you've been...?"

"Okay, I guess...you...?"  
"I'm fine...so..."

"So..."

There was awkward silence. Then, desperately, Ralph blurted out, "Do you know that Ted's the Spectre now?"

"He is?" Booster was quite surprised by this revelation and immediately interrogated Beetle about it: "Why didn't you ever tell me you were the Spectre?"

"It just happened," Beetle answered brusquely. "Anyhow, that's not important right now. I need to tell you about the nuclear powered submarine and Supernova and – "

"What are you talking about?" Booster interjected.

"If you would just listen – " Beetle began, but this time Maxwell interrupted.

"Uh, guys, it looks like Metropolis is being invaded by a bunch of robots," he stated as he at last regained his balance.

Beetle groaned, "Skeets' massacre..."

"Skeets' _what?_" Booster chocked out in complete shock.

"He's sort of possessed and evil – in this world, anyhow," Beetle elaborated. "He's been scheming behind your back and is the one responsible for orchestrating this ridiculous invasion of time displaced pirates and robots."

"_My _Skeets is leading an evil invasion? _My Skeets?_" Booster looked utterly heartbroken at the very notion that his friend would deceive him so.

Maxwell shook his head and placed a sympathetic hand on Booster's shoulder. "You just can't trust your artificial intelligent robot associates like you used to."

"Yeah, especially because I see L-Ron with them," Ralph remarked, stretching out his body so that he was beside Maxwell, who stood a few feet away.

"What?!" An outraged Maxwell's eyes narrowed as soon as they landed on his betrayer. "That sneaky little – "

"Will you people listen just to me for a minute!" Beetle shouted, growing impatient. "The stupid robot pirate invasion is not important. What we really need to worry about is the - "

"Sea monster!" Mary abruptly exclaimed.

"Yes, the sea monster," Beetle said with a sigh of relief. "Now, Booster, the sea monster has to do with the nuclear powered submarine I was trying to tell you about – "

"No, it's coming this way!" Mary clarified, pointing to the approaching beast.

"So, wait," Maxwell spoke up. "Are you trying to tell me that we're dealing with both an invasion by time displaced pirates and robots led by Skeets _and _a sea monster terrorizing the city? Wow, Metropolis sure has problems nowadays."

"Such is a dream without Superman," Booster commented gravely.

"Oh, poor Superman, wherever you are!" Mary began sobbing.

Beetle moaned, hanging his head. "Why can't you all just pay attention for just _one minute_...?"

"Were you saying something, Ted?" Booster then asked.

"_Yes_," Beetle answered with irritation. "I was _saying _that – "

Beetle again did not get a chance to finish, for Fire had arrived, with Booster's uniform. "Well, it looks like I missed a lot," she said as she quickly took in the impending threats while tossing Booster his attire. "So, who's got what?"

"Mary, Beetle, and I can take the sea monster," Booster said.

"Leaving me and Ralph to handle the invasion – that doesn't seem too hard," Fire commented.

"Count me in, too," Maxwell quickly stated with clenched fists, and the others immediately looked at him in surprise. "What? I want to beat the crap out of L-Ron."

"Fine," Fire conceded. "Let's just get this over with so we can talk about how we can get out of this crazy dream."

As the others left, Booster went to go change into his uniform, but Beetle took a hold of Booster's arm. "You need to listen to me _now_."

Noticing the urgency in Beetle's voice, Booster grew serious. "What is it, Ted?"

"You're going to die."

Booster's mouth gaped open. "You're joking, right?" he stammered

"I'm not," Beetle answered. "I can even see your funeral."

"You do?" Booster frowned. Then, as an after thought, he added, "Do a lot of people come?"

"Well..." Beetle trailed off awkwardly. "Not really. To be honest, it seems like people are going to be paid to go."

"You mean, they had to pay people to go to my funeral?" Booster exclaimed, absolutely aghast.

"I'm afraid so," Beetle replied with a sigh as Booster continued to mope. "People just really don't like you here."

"Don't worry, Booster," Mary, who had overheard, interjected, "I'd definitely go to your funeral and they wouldn't have to pay me at all!"

"Thanks..." Booster muttered, still upset about his miserable fate.

"But wait," Mary went on, "Booster can't die!"

"He doesn't have to," Beetle went on, "As long as he _stays away from the leaking nuclear powered submarine._"

Booster gulped. "I – I can do that."

"It's going to be hard, Booster," Beetle insisted, "No matter how illogical it is, you're going to want to stop that nuclear powered submarine from destroying the city without any help from anyone."

"Well, that doesn't make any sense," Booster laughed uneasily. "Why wouldn't I want any help?"

"I'm just telling you what I see," Beetle said. "Just keep your head, okay? Don't let this Supernova – "

"Who's Supernova?" Mary innocently questioned.

"Yeah, who is he?" Booster concurred more edgily.

"He's this mysterious superhero," Beetle explained. "I'm a little fuzzy on the details right now, but you're going to be jealous of him because he's going to destroy the sea monster and steal your spotlight."

"Why would I be jealous?"

"_Because_," Beetle snapped. "I don't know! You just are. It's a dream, so it doesn't need to make sense."

"I guess," Booster admitted. "But if I die here, does it really matter? I mean, it is a dream, and it didn't seem to hurt you much."

"But I almost did die," Beetle reminded him. "If it hadn't been for Sue, I probably would be dead. It's like the old saying goes, if you die in a dream – "

"You die in real life," Booster concluded glumly. "I got it."

"Good," Beetle said, relaxing somewhat. "Now let's go take care of this sea monster and be done with it." His fellow Super Buddies nodded in agreement.

* * *

Several minutes later, Mary Marvel found herself being thrown by the massive undersea creature into one of the nearby buildings and falling to the pavement, the impact breaking up the street. Groaning, she looked to see Booster, who was now in uniform, also being flung in her direction, skidding before landing by her. "Ow..." he moaned while rubbing the back of his sore head.

"I don't understand," Mary said. "It shouldn't be _that_ strong."

"Yeah," Booster concurred with a grunt. "And we're running out of time, too." It was then that the mysterious Supernova appeared, dressed in silver, blue, and red. In an instant, he disintegrated the sea monster. Eyes narrowing, an irritated Booster remarked, "So _that's _Supernova."

"I guess so..." Mary trailed off. "I wonder how he did that...hey, Booster, where are you going?"

"To give that jerk a piece of my mind!" Booster answered, having risen to his feet and starting to march over to where Supernova stood. "How dare he steal my spotlight?"

Mary's eyes widened and at once she sprung up and flew in front of Booster, standing worriedly in his way. "No, Booster, you _can't_! Remember what Beetle said about Supernova and the nuclear power submarine?"

"Nuclear power submarine...?" Booster tried his best to remember as he slowly repeated the words, his gaze shifting from Supernova to the dangerous leaking submarine that was still there just a few feet away. "I must stop it..."

"Huh?" Mary blinked in confusion as Booster's eyes remained locked on the nuclear powered submarine and he slowly began to walk toward the submarine. "Wait, stop!" Mary protested, but before she could stop him, she felt a hard blast hit her in her back, causing her to tumble forward. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the time displaced pirates and robots had arrived.

"Mary, are you all right?" Fire asked, flying to her side. "We tried to stop them, but they just keep coming, no matter what we do."

Soon after, Ralph and a badly bruised Maxwell made their way to where Mary and Fire were. "Oh my, what happened to you, Max?" Mary questioned as she looked up at him with worried eyes.

Ralph, however, answered instead with a snicker. "L-Ron beat the crap out of him."

"Shut up, Ralph," Max snapped, rubbing his aching shoulder.

"Guys, this isn't the time to bicker," Fire intervened, standing up from where she knelt by Mary's side. "Or did you forget that the robots are still coming?"

"Oh, right..." Ralph muttered, as more blasts were sent in their direction and the group of superheroes prepared to face their approaching opponents.

Meanwhile, Booster continued toward the nuclear power submarine. "Booster, what are you doing?" Beetle called out to him, struggling to stand up from where he laid in Metropolis' debris.

"I'm going to save the city, Beetle! And nobody is going to stand in my way, especially not Supernova!" Booster responded.

"Don't you remember anything I told you?" Beetle questioned as he tried his best to get to his friend, but all he could do was limp quickly. "You're going to die!"

"But I need to stop the nuclear power submarine, Beetle. I need to. Nothing else matters." And Booster continued toward the leaking sub.

Beetle then turned to Supernova and pleaded, "Please, you've got to stop him!" Supernova simply turned to him but did not respond. Yet, as he stared at him, Beetle's eyes widened. "You're – you're Booster!"

* * *

Sue Dibny paced nervously, wringing her hands as she walked by the unconscious members of the Super Buddies, all of whom had been carefully laid out on the floor of their Queen's headquarters. Nearby, L-Ron fidgeted nervously, glumly hovering over Maxwell Lord and imploring, "Please wake up, your sleepiness. Such a state is unbecoming for a cyborg of your wealth and prestige."

Frowning, Sue bit her lower lip and knelt down beside her husband, who looked almost lifeless as he remained motionless save for very faint breathing. Then, she glanced over at J'onn J'onnz who was studying Blue Beetle's conditions. "J'onn, there must be something you can do. What's wrong with them?"  
"It appears as if they've been removed from their bodies," a pondering J'onn replied as he stood up.

"But you can help them wake up, can't you?" Sue pressed.

"It's odd..." J'onn began, pausing for a moment. He then went on, "But I don't think they're asleep."

"Surely m'lord is just taking a nap!" L-ron spoke up. "He'll wake up soon enough. After all, he's always been a rather lazy person, but he's our fearless leader nonetheless!"

"Don't worry, L-ron," J'onn stated. "I am certain that I will be able to return them to their bodies."

"I don't understand," Sue shook her head, standing up as well. "Where are they?"  
"Another world, I think," J'onn explained. "Or, at least, their consciousnesses have been transplanted from their physical bodies here to what seems to be physical bodies elsewhere. Admittedly, I am having difficultly understanding it fully myself. However, I believe I should act quickly, as their bodies' survival here does depend on the well-being of their consciousnesses."

"Right," Sue said with some uncertainty, but trusting J'onn. "Just tell me what I can do."

"Care for my body while I'm gone."

"Huh?" Sue questioned, but J'onn's body had already become limp and crumbled to the ground, as lifeless as the others.

* * *

Beetle felt like his mind was going to explode. He stumbled back, clutching onto his throbbing head. Mustering all the strength he had, he managed to shout to Booster, who still headed toward the nuclear powered submarine, "Booster, he's you!"

"Nuclear...powered...submarine..." Booster said in response, clearly entranced by the dangerous object. "Must stop...by self...make me better than Supernova..."

"Booster, you idiot, you _are _Supernova!" Beetle tried again, this time with more force.

At this, Booster at last stopped, only inches from the nuclear powered submarine. Blinking with confusion, the blue and gold clad superhero slowly turned around to face what he had thought was his arch nemesis, at least for the last few minutes. Yet, as soon as Booster was finally looking at Supernova, with but a few feet between them, the latter raised his hand to his mask, and as if in slow motion, he removed it to reveal that he was, in fact, also Michael Jon Carter.

It was Booster Gold's turn to feel like his mind was going to explode. Closing his eyes and hunching over he let out a painful cry as he suddenly felt his consciousness being ripped from his body. Meanwhile, Beetle looked on with a grave expression of concern. "Perhaps I should have thought this over more..." he thought out loud, grimacing while Booster fell to his knees. Booster continued to shout loudly and incoherently, writhing spasmodically until he withered to a ground and deteriorated into nothing but a skeleton. Beetle froze, horrified eyes locked on his dear friend's remains. All he could choke out was, "Booster...?"

"I'm over here," Booster's voice suddenly came from Beetle's left. Immediately, Beetle snapped his head in his direction, to see that it was Supernova that spoke. "And I feel really, _really _sick." Dizzily, Booster stumbled forward, clearly disorientated.

"What – what happened?" Beetle stammered, glance darting back and forth from the old Booster to the new Booster.

"I think my uh...soul, I guess...was just ripped out of that body and stuffed into this one," Booster managed, adding, "And now everything is spinning incredibly fast. And you have two heads. This is worse than that time I rode the roller coaster sixteen times in a row at Six Flags...almost...yeah, I think that time was worse...but this is still pretty bad..."

"Uh, I think you better sit down Booster..." A still bemused Beetle offered.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea – " Booster started, but interrupted himself. "No, I've got to stop that nuclear powered submarine!"

"Sure, but – wait, _what?_"

"I'll be right back!" Booster – as Supernova - then declared, as he determinedly marched forward.

"I thought we established that you're going to die if you tried to stop the nuclear powered submarine by yourself," Beetle tried to rationalize.

"Die I might, but at least _I'll _be remembered as the one and only true hero here instead of that _jerk _Supernova."

"But you _are _Supernova!"

"Details, Beetle, details," Booster laughed haughtily and in a flash, he was at the nuclear powered submarine and carrying it up into the sky as a dismayed, but helpless, Beetle looked on. While his altitude increased, Booster smiled widely, his expression growing more blissfully ignorant as he prepared to contain the deadly nuclear explosion of the submarine. However, it was only when he at last stopped moving upward, the explosion just seconds away, that reason finally hit him and he fully began to understand the consequences of his actions. Face dropping and quite panicked, Booster had only a moment to react before the nuclear powered submarine blew up.

Yet, when it exploded, the violent blast was snuffed out by a whiteness that seemed to pour out of a hole in the sky. From this whiteness, to Booster's surprise, emerged the image of a very familiar friend. "J'onn...?" Booster questioned, squinting to see, before the whiteness engulfed him and all that was around him.

* * *

Booster opened his eyes to find himself standing before a blue house with a white picket fence in the suburbs. He soon noticed that J'onn and his other companions were with him, all appearing – save perhaps J'onn - as confused as he was.

"What just happened?" Maxwell Lord spoke up first. "Where are we?"

"At the home of the person who I believe is responsible for all of this," J'onn answered and gestured to a handsome blonde man in his early thirties playing with his three children in the front yard.

Noticing their obvious presence, the man stood up straight, sighed, shook his head and chuckled. Then turning to his children – two boys and one girl – he ordered, "Time to go inside now. Mom has cookies for you."

"All right, cookies!" the six year old boy exclaimed, and the seven year old boy grinned, sharing the excitement. Eagerly, the two scurried into the house.

However, the little blonde girl, only about four, lingered by her father's right leg and looked curiously up at the strangers. "Daddy, who are these people?" she asked inquisitively. "Are they your friends?"

"No, darling," the man replied good-naturedly, kneeling down to her. "These people are superheroes!"

"Wow, really?" the girl asked with wide, gleaming eyes. "Do they know Wonder Woman?"

"I don't know," he replied with a smile. "But Daddy needs to talk to them about some very important things. But, if you're really good and go inside to help Mommy and your brothers make dinner, I'll make sure that the next time they come they'll bring Wonder Woman with them and you can meet her, all right?"

"All right!" the girl enthusiastically agreed. She then gave the Super Buddies a shy smile and a small wave before trotting back to the house.

The man watched her leave before rising to finally address his visitors. "Sorry about that," he apologized with a smirk. "You know how kids can be. She's my only daughter, though, so I can't help but spoil her."

"Who are you?" J'onn demanded, not willing to participate in idle prattle.

"Daniel Diamond," the man answered bluntly, sticking his hands in his pockets. "But I suppose what you really want is my alias, right? After all, that's how you all know each other – on an alias name basis only. So, in that case, you can call me Mindbender." Yawning, he continued, "Anyhow, I hope you're not too bitter about this. It was just a harmless little experiment on my part, really. After all, you seem to have come out okay, right?"  
Maxwell stepped forward indignantly. "That's only because J'onn saved us from that – that – what exactly was that place again?"

"It was a dream, wasn't it?" Blue Beetle spoke up. "It had to be."

Mindbender smirked. "You could say that…" He paused, then added, "Of course, several key elements certainly were disrupted by that Sue Dibny, but I suppose I enjoyed the chaos that ensued all the same."

"That means it _was_ Sue I heard when I died – she did wake me up again," Beetle clarified and Mindbender nodded.

"Then she's alive, isn't she?" Ralph's face lit up. "Isn't she?"

"So many questions," Mindbender snidely chuckled. "And yet, you already know the answers, it seems. But, yes, she's alive and well elsewhere – in your world, that is."

"Well, I just want to know how we wake up and get back home," Booster stated, arms crossed.

"Are you sure?" Mindbender raised an eyebrow. "Because I had great things planned for you."

"Really?" Booster was immediately intrigued, anxious to hear more.

"That's right – you were going to be a star," Mindbender confirmed. "Although, admittedly, the rest of you weren't going to fare so well." Shrugging, he then said, "Ah well, it's over now, isn't it? So back you go."

"But wait, what about those 'great things' you were talking about – " Booster went to protest before Beetle shot him an elbow into the ribs.

"Just forget it Booster," Beetle told him with an annoyed glare.

"You're just jealous because he killed you first and was going to make me a star!"

Beetle rolled his eyes and turned to Mindbender with a frown. "You really picked him out of all of us to find success? Really?"

"I found him to be the most amusing, I suppose," Mindbender replied simply. "But, now it's time for you to return to your reality."

"You mean wake up," J'onn corrected him with suspicion.

"Of course," Mindbender conceded with a grin. "Wake up. Till next time…"

* * *

Maxwell Lord opened his eyes to see the ceiling of the Super Buddies headquarters located in Queens New York. It took a few moments for any sort of feeling sensation to return to his body. Letting out a groan, he mumbled, "Are we back…?"

"Did m'lord just stir?" L-ron asked hopefully, scurrying to Maxwell's side. "Oh, you are awake – our fearless leader awakes! What a miraculous day it is!"

"Can you not talk so loud? My head is killing me…" Maxwell muttered, sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck.

"I apologize, your wonderfulness." L-Ron explained, "I suppose my joy at seeing you wake at last caused me to get a bit carried away with myself."

Meanwhile, Sue, who had been kneeling by her husbands side, glanced over at her boss, clearly surprised to see him finally conscious. "Max…?" She asked as she stood up to get a better look at him. However, before she could say any more, she suddenly felt the rubbery arms of Ralph embrace her tightly; he had waken up, too, and had sprung to his feet to hug her.

"Sue!" he exclaimed. "I've missed you so much! I can't even tell you – I'm just so happy! I don't think I've ever been so happy before in my life! I love you, Sue."

"I love you, too, Ralph," Sue began in perplexity, "but what happened to you all?"

"Long story…" Beetle muttered, as he, Fire, Mary Marvel, and Booster Gold all regained consciousness, as well. "Some guy who goes by the name of Mindbender had us trapped in an alternate dream reality."

"You mean _nightmare_," Maxwell corrected, rising to his feet and brushing off his expensive tailored suit. "I can't begin to tell you all the terrible ordeals I've been through."

"Hey, it wasn't so bad," Booster argued. "I was going to be a star!"

Sue frowned at this. "Wow, it really does sound like a nightmare."

"You have no idea," Ralph said with a shudder.

"Oh, it was so terrible!" Mary interjected with a sob. Her tears, though, quickly turned to tears of joy as she beamed. "But I am so happy that we're all back together here, safe and sound! Just like one big happy family!"

The rest grimaced upon hearing Mary's last conjecture. "Let's not get carried away, Mary," Fire stated with a nauseated look on her face.

"But wait," Sue then questioned, anxiously looking around the room for the Martian Manhunter. "Where's J'onn?"

"I'm here," J'onn replied, standing alone in the corner. "And I'm fine."

"Something wrong?" Maxwell now asked, looking a bit concerned.

"There was more to that 'dream' than you think," J'onn explained. "In fact, it wasn't a dream."

"It wasn't?" Beetle questioned with surprise.

"No," J'onn answered. "It was another world, another plane of reality. However, it seems your presence there disturbed that world's natural order, particularly when Sue managed to cross the dimensional barrier, hence causing the dreamlike characteristics you all experienced. I didn't press the issue, because Mindbender seemed willing to cooperate and return you here, but – " he broke off mid-sentence. "Just, please, be careful. I don't think that's the last we'll see of Mindbender."

"Ah, you worry too much, J'onn," Booster laughed. "Besides, I don't know, that Mindbender seemed like an all right guy."

Fire nodded. "I thought he was okay. Pretty handsome, anyway."

"And he also seemed like such a great father, didn't he?" Mary chimed in. "So nice!"

"I guess he was polite," Beetle also conceded. "And it didn't appear like he wanted to hurt us."

"That's right," Maxwell pointed out. "He said it was just a harmless experiment, which suggests, at least, that his intentions weren't evil. Perhaps he was even trying to help us in some way."

"I don't understand…" J'onn trailed off with confusion and grave concern as he watched the Super Buddies defend the man who had been their attacker.

"Me neither," Sue sighed, when she suddenly felt a tug on her arm. Looking to her right, she saw Ralph pulling her toward the door. "Huh? Ralph, where are we going?"  
"Yes, that's a very good question," Maxwell spoke up, looking down at his watch, "as you both still have a half a day left of work."

"Well, we're taking the rest of the day off," Ralph declared as he swooped Sue off her feet and into his arms. "Because I'm going home to sleep with my wife."

Sue blushed violently at this, exclaiming, "Ralph!" as her husband headed out the door still carrying her.

"You go, Ralph! You're the man! Do us all proud!" Booster crudely called after them, adding, "Lucky man, that Ralph."

"I'd say…" Maxwell stated in a rather serious tone that caused the others to stare at him quizzically. "What?"

After a moment more of awkward silence, Booster went on, "Anyhow, I think I ought to do some reconnecting myself. After seeing evil Skeets, it made me appreciate my own Skeets that much more."

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you about that – whatever happened with you and Skeets in the first place?" Beetle asked. "I mean you two used to be so close, and now it seems like he's never around anymore."

"Well," Booster started, sheepishly staring at his feet, "you see, he and Gladys never really got along…and then when Gladys refused to even allow him to come to our wedding, well…let's say it just put a strain on our friendship…"

"Wow, Booster, you really are a sell out," Beetle commented flatly and Booster frowned.

In the meantime, Maxwell turned to his robot companion and ordered, "L-Ron, bring me lunch. I'm in the mood for Japanese this afternoon."

"Of course, m'lord," L-Ron complied, "I'll have it for you immediately. Is there anything else you'd like me to do for you, sir?"

"Has you've seen that my dry cleaning has been taken care of? I have a very important dinner date and – "

"Don't worry, my impeccably dressed leader – I have seen to it that all has been tended to while you were sleeping, as I never lost hope that you would soon awake."

Maxwell smiled. "You know, L-Ron, although I don't always show it, I really do appreciate everything you do. And even though it took a horrific nightmare to make me admit this, I don't know what I'd do without you – the real you, that is." L-Ron, however, did not respond. "Well, say something!"

"It's just that I'm so shocked, m'lord," L-Ron managed to choke out, "To hear you actually be so sentimental for a change – why, it's so unexpected! Could it be that you're turning over new leaf?"

"Don't get your hopes up, L-Ron. Now, weren't you supposed to be getting me my lunch? Come on, make it snappy!"

L-Ron sighed. "Yes, sir…"

_End_

* * *

**Author's Note: **That's it for _I Can't Believe It _**IS**_The Justice League_! If you didn't realize, Daniel Diamond/Mindbender is my own creation, but his first name and initials might give away a little bit as to who he's supposed to loosely based on. Anyway, as I've mentioned, I'm considering using this as an introduction to a series of Super Buddies stories, which is why the whole Mindbender storyline is not completely resolved and left somewhat ambigous. Well, we'll see, but thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! 


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